November 25, 2011

Anyone who believes that late November is a little tardy for the first dip into the Pacific Ocean should bear this in mind. After the sea comes back from its winter holidays in the Antarctic, where it whiles away the icy nights by stroking the furry bottoms of seals and walruses, it’s pretty damn cold I can tell you. It needs time to warm up to the point where I can still feel my legs after I dive tiptoe into the gentle waves. So today was the big day. Because I haven’t been to the beach for so long, there were several unrelated but joyfully wondrous firsts to savour.

Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoo

Extensive research (see Dr Google) revealed that there are six varieties of black cockatoo in Australia, and the yellow-tailed is the largest. Flocks comprising about half a dozen birds visit us here in early summer and lay waste to the coastal banksias. They are the natural enemy of the Big Bad Banksia Men, so kiddies can sleep soundly in their beds during the summer holidays, secure in the knowledge that these glorious birds are looking out for them. As well as the startling yellow tail feathers, they have a rather endearing yellow ear patch just above the huge beaks which they use to get at the banksia seeds. Usually they sit up in the trees, but this afternoon I came upon two of them on the ground having a picnic among the fallen cones.

The First Abandoned/Lost FlipFlop of Summer

By the end of March, there are boxes of these, in all sizes, shapes and colours, floating around the Woorim community. Perhaps they are not abandoned, but just cannot stand the thought of co-existing with their mate during a long hot summer and have run away to sea. Who knows. Either way, we could make a fortune on ebay if there was a market for single thongs. Unfortunately, no such market exists …. yet.

Nobody (except the Moreton Bay Shire Council and they won’t tell) knows where these mysterious sandbags spend the winter months. I suspect Hawaii or Tahiti or Bali, judging by the drunken swaggering involved as they traipse back over the dunes to Woorim Beach. I have never seen a sober sandbag and neither have any of my neighbours. Anyway, they arrive here every November, clutter up the beach and disturb the peace with their drunken orgies, and then, thank heavens, depart in early autumn. And I (and this really gets up my nose) pay my exorbitant rates to fund their endless partying!! It’s an absolute disgrace.

Anyway, apart from all that, I had a lovely swim and another first for this summer – sunburn. Anyone who’s thinking of visiting, now is a great time to do it. We can all go and throw rotting fruit at the sandbags. What fun!